


From one Federation to Another (meta)

by HermitLibrary_Archivist



Category: Blake's 7, Star Trek
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-05-26
Updated: 2008-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-19 06:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4735574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HermitLibrary_Archivist/pseuds/HermitLibrary_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>by Ellynne G</p>
            </blockquote>





	From one Federation to Another (meta)

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Judith and Aralias, the archivists: This story was originally archived at [Hermit.org Blake's 7 Library](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Hermit_Library), which was closed due to maintenance costs and lack of time. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2015. We posted announcements about the move and emailed authors as we imported, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this author, please contact us using the e-mail address on [Hermit.org Blake's 7 Library collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hermitlibrary/profile). 
> 
> This work has been backdated to 26th of May 2008, which is the last date the Hermit.org archive was updated, not the date this fic was written. In some cases, fics can be dated more precisely by searching for the zine they were originally published in on [Fanlore](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Main_Page).

It's occasionally been speculated that B7's Federation is what Star Trek's Federation becomes after about four hundred years. (Not least because the B7 Federation symbol ressembles the Trek Federation symbol toppled onto its side.)

An interesting question is what might have been the event that triggered the transformation of the (more or less) democratic society in "Star Trek" into the despotic Blake's Federation.

We know they had some kind of nuclear wars. Some kind of widespread war or plague would be needed to account for the population differences (B7 seems to have far fewer people and much of the Earth may be less habitable [I'm assuming they don't keep most of the population in domes and ignore the folks living outside out of some sense of balance]). There's also a greater sense of lost technology (the Clonemaster's monopoly on nearly all biological research, the whole theory behind Terminal [or the theory as Servalan claimied to understand it], the emphasis on stealing the Liberator rather than being reinspired to do further research on the things Liberator proved were possible [we never hear of them reopening the teleport project]).

So, widespread war and/or other disaster(s), reduced population, complete disappearance of some races (Vulcans, Klingons,etc), followed by the rise of a pro-human Federation which further subdivides its own people. Also, a galaxy spanning, totalitarian government which ignores areas and peoples on its central world.

Conclusions: a large part of the ST Federation was wiped out (circumstances unknown). Humans survived, some with at least limited knowledge of their origins and history and some without (helping explain why some very humanoid 'aliens' speak the same language as everyone else [although some true aliens may still speak versions of the common tongue (which may not be English, just because the TV translates it)]).

The damage on Earth probably caused some fears of genetic damage (suggesting radiation, although disease could also be a problem. If enough knowledge was lost, physical variations caused by normal genetic drift or even nutritional deficiencies could be put down to genetic damage, causing Outsiders and their territory to be shunned long after the danger was past). This suggests the Federation grading system may have begun as a way of judging genetic damage or of trying to encourage 'good stock' that evolved into a caste system. Earth, for any of several possible reasons, either remained or became a center of power. What may have initially been an effort to focus resources on a devastated, large population center became a system of Earth first.

Certain types of technology were lost. Other types are preserved only by specific groups who don't share. In other cases, technology seems to have been preserved but there is little understanding of underlying principles (the ignorance of genetics and evolution shown by Servalan in Terminal is just appalling). There is a suggested prejudice against biological sciences expressed by Avon that goes along with this.

Side issue on Dayna: For whatever reasons, fair-skinned Europeans dominated the offworld gene pool. The current situation is one where Dayna represents an obvious _Earth type_ with all the caste implications that carries. Remember, one of the first things she said to Avon was to scornfully ask whether she looked like one of the nonTerran locals. She worries about being able to pass for a nonTerran at other times but never about passing for an Alpha grade from Earth.


End file.
